Freight car ladder



April 5, 1932.

E. NEWCASTLE 1,852,430

FREIGHT CAR LADDER Filed Feb. 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l HI 'HIHIIIIKHIWHHH I b INVENTOR.

EDWARD NEWCASTLE.

///s Afro/ME):

April 5, 1932. E. NEWCASTLE FREIGHT CAR LADDER Filed Feb. 9, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet //VVENTOR EDWARD NEWCASTLE Patented Apr. 5, 1932 EDWARDNEWCASTLE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA FREIGHT CAR LADDER Applicationfiled February 9, 1931.

My invention relates to improvements in ladders for railway freight carsand the like, wherein a ladder section and an approach step are mountedupon the lower portion of a car Wall, said ladder section and step beingnormally held in an inoperative position to prevent ascent thereon byunauthorized persons onto the car, and being movable to operativepositions when required.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved ladder forrailway freight cars and the like to normally hinder the ascent ofunauthorized persons onto such cars.

Another object is to provide an improved ladder which is normally heldin an inoperative position upon a wall and which may be readily moved toan operative position when required.

A further object is to provide an improved device of the characterdescribed provided with an approach step movable to operative andinoperative positions, the step being normally disposed in aninoperative position to u prevent ascent onto the ladder.

Another object is to provide an improved ladder of the characterdescribed which may be readily operated either from above or below tomove the ladder between its operative and inoperative positions in aprescribed manner.

A. further object is to provide an improved device of the characterdescribed which may be effectually held in operative position whenrequired, and which maybe released and automatically returned to anormal inoperative position either from below or above.

A further object is to provide an improved device of simple andeiiicient construction a: and operation and which can be economicallyinstalled.

A. still further object is to provide improved mechanism of thecharacter described cmliodying improved details of construction 4 andarrangement to facilitate the manufacture, installation, and operationof the device.

I accomplish these and other objects by means of the improved devicedisclosed in the drawings forming a part of the present applicationwherein like characters of reference Serial No. 514,494.

are used to designate similar parts through out the specification anddrawings, and in which 4 Fig. l is a broken vertical transverse sectionof a portion of a freight car showing, in side elevation, my improvedladder mechanism applied thereon, portions of the mechanism bein brokenaway and shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a broken front elevation of the device as shown in Fig. 1,portions being broken away and shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a broken sectional view showing the manner in which themovable ladder section is movable from operative to inoperativepositions;

Fig. 4 is a bro-ken back view of the approach step and operatingmechanism as mounted upon a freight car;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. the ladder section and approach stepmoved to operative position;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the mechanism as shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a broken plan view partly in section of the latch and itsactuating crank shaft; and

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view of the movable ladder section.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 is used to designate in generala railway freight car having aside wall 2 and floor 3 of the ordinaryconstruction.

The wall 2 is provided with a ladder whereby persons may ascend to thetop of the freight car or descend from the car to the ground, saidladder preferably comprising an upper portion 4 mounted in stationaryposition upon the upper portion of the wall, and a lower movable section6 mounted upon the wall 2 below the stationary portion 4. The upperstationary portion of the ladder is provided with suitable rungs 7, andis mounted upon outwardly extending supporting standards 8 whereby therungs are held in spaced relation to the wall 2. The lower or movableladder section 6 is provided with similar rungs 7 and is mounted bymeans of links 9, each pivoted at one end upon the ladder section 6 inany convenient manner, and pivoted 1, showlng .M

at the opposite end upon suitable supporting members 10 secured upon thewall.

The movable section 6 is arranged to occupy a normal position with theside members and the rungs 7 in proximate relation to the wall 2 wherebythe section is rendered inoperative for climbing onto or descending fromthe car. The links 9 are arranged to swing outwardly from a normalposition in proximate relation to the sides of the ladder section 6, andagainst the wall 2, to an outwardly extending position, the links beingof a length such that when extending outwardly from the wall, thesection 6 will be disposed in an operative position substantially in thesame plane with the stationary ladder section 4. The links 9 areprovided with lugs 11 upon the inner ends thereof, said lugs beingmovable to seat against the wall 2 and limit the movement of the links 9to their operative position. The upper end of the movable section 6 isarranged preferably to be received between offset extensions 12 formedupon the lower ends of the side members of the stationary section 4.

A shaft 14 is mounted adjacent to the lower edge of the wall 2 by meansof a suit-able mounting member 16 provided with bearing portions 16engaging the shaft at points adjacent to opposite ends thereof. Theshaft 14 is provided with a cam member 17 secured thereon. The member 17is provided with a link 18 havingone end pivotally connected to themember 17 and the other end pivotally connected to the lowerend of oneof the side members of the movable ladder section 6, the member 17 beingmovableby means of the shaft 14 to actuate the link .18 and thereby movethe ladder section between its inoperative .position as shown in Fig. 1and its operative position as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Therelative positions of the ladder section 6 are shown in dotted and infulllines in Fig. 3 of the drawings. One end of the shaft 14 is squaredor otherwise shaped as at 20 to receive a suitable turning implement 19.Spring means, such as a suitable torsion spring 21 is mounted inconnection with the shaft 14: to normally turn said shaft and the member18 to a position such that the ladder section 6 is moved and held in itsinoperative position.

An approach step 22 is pivotally mounted below the lower end of theladder section 6 at the bottom of the wall 2, the step preferably beingmounted upon the shaft 1 1 in pivotally' movable relation thereto. Acrank member 23 is mountedin back of the step 22, preferably uponasuitable mounting member 24 secured upon the under side of the carfloor 3. The member 23 is provided with an arm 26 connected to the step22 by means of a connecting link or yoke member 27, the member 27 beingpivotally connector at opposite ends to the arm 26 and to the step 22respectively. The crank member 23 is also provided with an arm 28connected to the cam member 17 by means of a link 29 whereby movement ofthe shaft 14 and cam member 17 will be imparted through the crank member23 and yoke 27 to the step 22. The stop member 22 is arranged tonormally occupy a. position extending inwardly under the car 1, asindicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and is movable by means of the cam17 and the intermediate connections to an operative outwardly extendingposition as indicated in Fig. 5, when the shaft 14: is moved to actuatethe ladder section 6 to its operative position.

The shaft 14- is provided with a stop member 31 having a detent '32formed thereon. A latch member 33 is mounted adjacent to the stop member31, said member 33 being provided with a latch portion 34: arranged toengage the detent 32 and prevent return movement of the member 31 andthe shaft 14 after the shaft ha been moved to actuate the ladder section6 and step 22 to their operative positions. The latch member 31. isengaged by a crank 36 formed upon' a shaft 37 extending transverselyabove the latch member, said shaft 37 being provided with an actuatinglever The crank 36 and lever 37 are so disposed that the action ofgravity operatesgto turn the shaft to a normal position vu such that thecrank 36 operates to press the latch member 33 downwardly to positionthe latch portion 34iin the path of the detent 32 whereby the detentwill be automatically engaged and held against return after passing thelatch portion 34. The latch member 33 is also engaged by an actuatingrod 38 extending upwardly along the Wall 2 at one side of the laddersection 6 to a point adjae cent to the top of said ladder section. An

actuating lever 39 is pivot-all mounted adjacent to the top of the rod38 and in engagement therewith whereby therod 38 may be moved to actuatethe latch member33 to releasing position, as hereinafter more fullydescribed.

Theupper end of the movable ladder section 6 is provided with a footpiece 4:1 211? rangedto receive the weight of a person doscending theladder when the section. (Sis in its inoperative position, whereby theweight of such person operates to swing the section 6 outwardly tooperative position, the movement of the ladder being imparted throughthe link 18 and cam member 17 to the shaft 14 The cam member 17,together with the latch member 33 and link 29 is covered by a suitablehousing 42, andthe rod 38 is enclosed within a tubular casing 43. i

In, operation, the shaft 14' is normally moved by the spring 21 to movethe cam member 17 to the position indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings,thereby causing theladder section to be moved inwardly intoproximatereoutwardly to its operative position.

lation to the wall 2, and at the same time moving the step 22 inwardlyto its inoperative position, as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawmgs. Inthis position, the step occupies a position inaccessible to a personseeking to ascend the ladder onto the car 1, and at the same time, therungs 7 of the ladder section 6 are disposed in proximate relation tothe wall so that they cannot be grasped or afford an adequate hand orfoot hold by which a person could ascend onto the car.

When a trainman desires to ascend the ladder, the shaft 1 1 is turned,by means of the implement 19, to move the ladder section and step tooperative positions. For this purpose, the ordinary brake club commonlycarried by trainmen is preferably provided. with a soclret arranged tofit the squared end of the shaft. The implement 1,9 is applied in asubstantially horizontally disposed position so that the weight of thetrainmen may be elfectually applied through the leverage of theimplement 19 to turn the shaft. As the shaft is turned, the link 18 ismoved to swing the ladder section 6 outwardly to its operative position,and at the same time, the link 29 moved to operate through the crankmember 23 and link 27 to swing the step outwardly to operative position,as shown in Fig. As the shaft 1-61 is turned, the detent 32 is movedpast the latch portion 34 of the member 33, the member 33 being raisedagainst the force of gravity as the detent passes the portion 34, andbeing immediately moved downward- 1y by gravity to prevent returnmovement of the detent past the latch portion 34. The step 22 and ladderportion. 6 will thus be held in an operative position whereby thetrainman may readily ascend onto the car.

When the trainman has ascended until his weight is supported upon thestationary ladder section 1-, he presses the lever 39 in a manner tomove the same to actuate the rod 38 and thereby lift the latch member 83to a releasing poistion out of engagement with the det-ent 32. As soonas the detent is re leased, the spring 21 operates to immediately returnthe shaft 14:, and the connections actuated thereby, to normalinoperative position.

Should a trainman desire to descend from the top of the car 1, hedescends in the ordinary manner until he can reach and apply his weightupon the foot piece 41, thereby pressing the ladder section 6 downwardlyand The movement of the lad d-er section 6 actu ates the cam member 17and shaft 14 in the same manher as when the shaft 14 is turned by meansof the implement 19, thereby causing the step 22 to be swung outwardlyto operative position. Upon reaching the ground, the train man raisesthe lever 35 sulticiently to more the crank 36 and latch member 33engaged thereby to releasing position. thereby permitting the step andladder section to be automatically returned to their inoperativepositions by the spring 21.

From the above explanation, it will be observed that trainmen mayreadily operate the ladder section 6 and step 22 either from below orfrom above as required, and that the section and step may be releasedeither from above or below to permit the parts to be re turned to normalinoperative position.

My device is primarily useful as a means to prevent unauthorized personsfrom I mounting onto freight cars, and to guard against the theft ofgoods from freight cars while in transit. A common practice of freightcar thieves is to swing aboard a freight 30 train as it is leaving astation. They then break the seals and open a car door from the top ofthe car and swing into the opened car from above. The thieves then throwthe goods out along the right of way to be 001- 8 lected by Confederatesor by the thieves themi A selves at a later time. My improved devicerenders it extremely ditlicult, if not impossible, for a thief to boarda moving freight train, and thereby constitutes an effectual guardagainst the theft of goods in transit.

While I have illustrated what I now regard as the preferred embodimentof my invention, and have illustrated the device only as applied uponrailway freight cars, the device is, of course, subject to modificationin numerous details of construction and may be applied to other purposeswithout departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore do notwish to be restricted to the specific 10o construction and method ofapplication here- Z in disclosed, but desire to avail myself of allmodifications which may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. A freight car ladder comprising a stationary section mounted upon a side of a freight car adjacent to the topthereof; a movable section mounted upon the wall belov the stationarysection; and means for moving said movable section between operative andinoperative positions relative to the Wall of the freight car.

2. A freight car ladder comprising a star. tionary section mounted upona side of a freight car adjacent to the top thereof; a movable sectionmounted upon the wall below the stationary section; and means operablefrom the top and from thebottom of said 212- movable section to move thesame between operative and inoperative positions relative to the wall ofthe freight car.

3. A frieght car ladder comprising a sta- 12 tionary section mountedupon a side of a freight car adjacent to the top thereof; a movablesection mounted upon the wall below the stationary section; means tonormally hold the movable section in an inoperative E position inproximate relation to the wall;

and means to move the movable section to an operative position in spacedrelation to the wall.

4. A freight car ladder comprising a stationary section mounted upon aside of afreight car adjacent to the top thereof; a movable sectionmounted upon the wall below the stationary section; means to normallyhold the movable section in an inoperative position in proximaterelation to the wall; and means operable from the top and from thebottom of the movablesection to move the same to an operative positionin spaced relation to the wall.

5. A freight car ladder comprising a stationary section mounted uponaside of a freight car adjacent to the top thereof; a movable sectionmounted upon the wall below the stationary section; means to normallyhold the movable section in an inoperative position in proximaterelation to the w ll; means operable from the top and'from the bottom ofthe movable section to move the same to an operative position in spacedrelation to the wall; retaining means to secure the movable section inoperative position; and means to move the retaining means to a releasing position to release the movable section to its inoperativeposition.

6. A freight car ladder comprising a stationary section mounted upon aside of a freight car adjacent to the top thereof; a movable sectionmounted upon the wall below the stationary section; means to normallyhold the movable section in an inoperative position in proximaterelation to the wall; means operable from the top and from the bottom ofthe movable section to move the same to an operative position in spacedrelation to the wall; retaining means to secure the movable section inoperative position and means independently operable from the top andfrom the bottom of the movable section to move the retaining means to areleasing position to release the movable section to its inoperativeposition.

7. The combination with a freight car, of a movable ladder sectionmounted upon a wall of the car; a step pivotally mounted at the loweredge of the wall in substantial alinement with the ladder section; meansnormal- 1y holding the ladder section and step in inoperative positionsto prevent the ascent or descent of persons along the ladder section;and means to move the ladder section and step to operative positions. 7

8. The combination with a freight car of a movableladder section mountedupon a wall of the car, said section being provided with links pivotedat one end upon the ladder section and at the opposite end upon the wallto support the ladder in an inoperat ve position in proximate relationto the'wall the links being movable to support the section in anoperative position outwardly spaced from the wall; a shaft mounted belowthe lower edge of the wall and provided with means whereby the shaft maybe rotated; an approach step pivotally mounted upon the shaft; a cammounted upon the shaft; a link connected to the cam and to the laddersection to move the ladder between its operative and inoperativepositions when the shaft and cam are moved through a portion of arevolution; and links connecting the cam with the approach step to movesaid step between operative and inoperative positions simultaneouslywith the movement of the ladder sectionto corresponding positions.

9. Thecombination with a freight car, of a movable ladder sectionmounted upon a wall of the'car, said section being provided with linkspivoted at one end upon the ladder section and at the opposite end uponthe wall to support the ladder. in an inoperative position in proximaterelation to the wall, the links being movable to support the section inan operative position outwardly spaced from the wall; a shaft mountedbelow the lower edge of the wall and provided with means whereby theshaft may be rotated; an approach step pivotally mounted upon the shaft;a cam mounted upon the shaft; alink connect-er to the cam and to theladder section to move the ladder between its operative and inoperativepositions when the shaft and cam are moved through a portion of arevolution; links connecting the cam with the approach step to move saidstep between opera tive and inoperative positionssimultaneously with themovement of the ladder section to corresponding positions; spring meansto normally actuatethe shaft and cam to move the ladder section and stepto their inoperative positions; and latch means to releasably securetheshaft and cam against return movement when moved to actuate the laddersection and step to operative position.

10. T he combination with a freight car, of amovable ladder sectionmounted upon a wall of the car, said section being provided with linkspivoted at one end upon the ladder section and at the opposite end uponthe wall'to support the ladder in an inoperative position in proximaterelation to the wall the links being movable to support the section inan operative position outwardly spaced. from the wall; a shaft mountedbelow the lower edge of the wall an d provided with means whereby theshaft may be rotated; an approach step pivotally mounted upon the shaft;a cam mounted upon the shaft; a link connected to the cam and to theladder section to move the ladder between its operative and inoperativepositions when the shaft and cam are moved through a portion of arevolution ;'l1nks con-' ncc ting the cam with the approach step 'tomove said step between operative and 111- operative positionssimultaneously Wlllll the movement of the ladder section tocorresponding positions; spring means to normally aetuate the shaft andcam to move the ladder section and step to their inoperative positions.latch means to releasably secure the shaft and cam against returnmovement when moved to actuate the ladder section and step to operativeposition; and means operable from the top and from the bottom of theladder section to move the latch means to releasing position.

11. The combination with a freight car, of a movable ladder sectionmounted upon a Wall of the car, said section being provided with linkspivoted at one end upon the ladder section and at the opposite end uponthe wall to support the ladder in an inoperative position in proximaterelation to the wall, the links being movable to support the section inan operative position outwardly spaced from the wall; a shaft mountedbelow the lower edge of the wall and provided with means whereby theshaft may be rotated; an approach step pivotally mounted upon the shaft;a cam mounted upon the shaft; a link connected to the cam and to theladder section to move the. ladder between its operative and inoperativepositions when the shaft and cam are moved through a portion of arevolution; links connecting the cam With the approach step to move saidstep between operative and inoperative positions simultaneously With themovement of the ladder section to corresponding positions; and meansupon the upper end of the ladder section for moving said ladder sectionto operative position from above.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my signature.

EDWARD NEWCASTLE.

